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T. E. KING BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed June 22, 1939 Nov. 26, 1940.

ww f wa Patented Nov. 26, 1940 Unirse stares iDATEN'i @FFiCE 14 Claims.

This invention relates to building structures and particularly to masonry wall constructions.

It is quite well-known to all of those primarily concerned with the design, erection and maintenance of masonry buildings, that it is extremely dicult to entirely prevent penetration of moisture into masonry wall structures, and sometimes practically impossible, Moisture which does so penetrate into a wall seeps downwardly through tite wall until it either moves laterally to one surface or the other of the Wall and escape by evaporation, or reaches the foo-ting. All seepage which penetrates to the inner surface of the wall is highly destructive to plaster coatings, wall paper and other decorative finishings and wall seepage which eventually escapes at the outer surface of the wall frequently causes the formation of streaks of discoloration on such surface.

t is of course possible to coat the exterior surface of a masonry wall with a water-repellent substance and numerous such substances have been used with success, preventing penetration of moisture into the wall areas which they protect. However, all wall areas cannot be so coated, certain areas because it is desired that the natural brick or stone surface be left visible, and other areas for other reasons. It is particularly difcult to prevent the penetration oi' moisture into fa wall having door and window openings,.where it may cause substantial damage. Moisture seeping downwardly through the masonry structure is usually quite destructive to the upper portion of a door or window frame, whether the frame is constructed of wood or metal and likewise, because the frame is never quite watertight in all of its joints and seams, much water is enabled to penetrate into the wall below the frame to cause damage farther down. 40 In accordance with the present invention there are incorporated into a masonry structure, such as a wall, various units which may be designated seepage control units and by means of which the amount of moisture within such struc- 4 ture can be so controlled and reduced that its destructive effect is practically nullied. The average masonry wall structure comprises a plurality of tiers or courses of building units such as brick, concrete blocks, tiles or stones, each individual unit being bound to the units adjacent it by mortar, the mortar being disposed in both horizontal and vertical layers or joints. It is not desirable that such a structure be weakened by the insertion at any point of a horizontally disposed course or layer which will not bond with the courses or tiers above and below the same because, in the absence of such bond, the lateral strength of the Wall is very greatly reduced. For this reason use of copper cr other metallic horizontally disposed plates or sheets in masonry walls has not received substantial popula-r approval even though such horizontal dividing plates will adequately prevent the downward passage of moisture.

It is my proposal that a given masonry wall 10 structure, quite adequately safeguarded against objectionable seepage, may be had by incorporating into it at one or more elevations, a course or tier comprising moisture collecting units, each such unit serving to collect all of the water 1'51 seeping downwardly toward it from above and to eect the discharge of this water laterally to one face or the other of the Wall. Each unit of this tier comprises in effect a water collecting basin which extends from wall surface to wall 20 surface and bridging members are provided to prevent the passage of moisture through the joints between the water collecting units. In combination with such a tier, flashing may be employed, in the nature of copper sheets, if de- 25 sired, or sheets of other materials, for deecting the water discharged by the water collecting units outwardly and away from the wall. The several units which together comprise the seep,- age collecting course may be fabricated of clay 30 when the wall is of brick, or of cement when the wall is of concrete blocks, etc., and the several units may likewise beso dimensioned that the observer will be unable to perceive that the wall includes any units other than units of ordinary 35 brick, concrete blocks or the like. In other words, the novel seepage control units may be so designed and constructed that they may be '-employed in masonry constructions of all types and the fact that they are presentcannot read- 40 ily be detected.

While the invention may thus have various embodiments, only one has been selected for disclosure by way of example, this form being fully illustrated in the accompanying drawing, 5 in which:

Figure l shows in perspective View a portion of a parapet which projects above the roof structure of a building, the parapet being formed of brick, capped with stone, and including two '50 o-f the seepage control courses;

Figure 2 is a view, partly in perspective and partly in section, of a portion of a wall having a window opening with seepage control courses both above and below the same;

Figure 3 is a plan view of portion of a course or tier of the seepage control units;

Figure 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a section taken normally to the wall shown in Figure 2 and along th-e line 5--5 in that figure;

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line 6 6 of Figure 3, mortar joints being shown, however, which are omitted from Figure 3; and

Figure '7 is a section on line 1 1 of Figure 2.

In Figure 3 several of the individual units which are used in the laying down of a seepage control course are shown in plan, arranged side by side. As so viewed, they are rectangular and each is so dimensioned that it is as high as the other building units with which it is employed, in this case being as high, or as thick, as the standard brick. It is as long as the wall is wide and its width is equal to the length of a standard brick so that, after the incorporation of a layer of these units in a wall, the wall appears to an observer as though it were constructed entirely of the ordinary standard brick. However, these units, which are generally indicated at l0, comprise upwardly facing catch basins for water seeping downwardly from above. The floor of each such basin is substantially flat and springing upwardly therefrom are a plurality of strengthening ribs il. These units l0 are laid side by side, just as bricks are laid up in the wall, and the ilat undersurface of each rests upon a mortar course such as indicated at l2. The units are spaced apart horizontally by distances equal to the normal thickness of the usual vertical mortar joint, one of which is indicated at I3.

The bridging members Ill overlie adjacent upwardly extending marginal flanges l5 of adjacent units Hi to prevent downward passage of moisture through the mortar joint i3. Not only do the bridging members i4 prevent downward passage of seepage through the mortar joints i3 but the lower horizontal edge surfaces I5 of the parallel depending flanges I 5 of these members directly overlie and protect against obstruction the upper ends of the ports or passages 0in Figure 4.

Il which extend downwardly from the iloor of the water collecting basin of the unit to either its lower surface, as indicated in Figure 5, or to a lateral face, as indicated by the passage I1 After the bridging members I4 have been positioned, a mortar course is spread ov-er the tops of the seepage collecting units l0, and over the bridging members, just as though this course comprised brick only. Following this any number of tiers of bricks may be superposed on this seepage control course. It will be observed that the undersurface of each block or unit l0 is provided with a groove i8 and when these units are laid up in a wall, these grooves are in alignment and serve to receive the upwardly directed flange of a flashing member, such a iiange I9 of a metallic flashing member i9 being indicated in Figure 4 and the upwardly directed flange 2Q of a ashing member 20 formed of refractory or other relatively thick material being shown in Figure 5. Hence the moisture collected and allowed to pass downwardly through eitherv a series of ports such as l1 or a series of ports such as Il will be directed outwardly of the wall by the flashing members, whichever may be used. Generally speaking, it is not desirable that the inclined ports I1 be employed in a wall surface which is to be decorative but these inclined discharge ducts, with their visible discharge ports, may be freely used on the rear face of a wall, such as the parapet shown in Figure 1, there being two tiers of these units made use of in that portion of the wall shown, as indicated by the numerals I0. In Figure 2 the units I0 are shown to be provided with the vertically disposed drainage ducts Il and the flashing 2li employed may be more properly described as a diversion canopy, directing the seepage collected outwardly and away from the window opening, as well as shielding the window opening against rainfall. Beneath the window opening and beneath the sill of the window therein there is a further course comprising units indicated at I0 for the collection of moisture which may have penetrated into the wall through cracks in the window frame, etc. Here flashing such as indicated at I9 and 20 is not ordinarily used and the moisture which is collected over the entire cross-section of the wall is caused to be discharged downwardly through the vertical ducts l1 into the underlying mortar course. However, the discharge port of the duct l'l is closely adjacent the surface of the wall and a large portion of the water so collected will make its way to this wall surface and be rapidly evaporated.

It will be observed that the mortar which is placed upon the moisture intercepting and collecting course cannot obstruct the passages I1 or the passages il due to the fact that the downwardly extending flanges of the bridging members l are position-ed directly above these ports. The units may be fabricated at low cost upon a large scale production basis, are thoroughly effective, do not interfere with the bond between the masonry courses above and below the same, and are altogether suitable in every way for use in masonry construction of the highest character.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A masonry wall structure comprising a plurality of superposed tiers or courses of building units, one course consisting of seepage collecting blocks, substantially the entire area of each such block, as viewed in plan, comprising a basin for collecting moisture seeping downwardly from superposed courses, and ,each having a drainage duct formed therein for permitting the discharge of collected moisture, at a predetermined point spaced from the central portion of said wall.

2. A masonry wall structure comprising a plurality of vsuperposed tiers or courses of building units, one such course being composed of seepage collecting blocks for collecting moisture seeping downwardly from above, the spaces between adjacent blocks being covered by impervious bridging members which prevent the downward seepage of moisture therethrough, each block having an upwardly facing water collecting recess and having a port therein for leading from said recess to a discharge port below the recess and adjacent one end of the block.

3. A masonry wall structure which includes a horizontally extending series of spaced blocks each having an upwardly facing recess for the collection of moisture and a duct leading downwardly from the bottoml of said recess, and moisture deflecting elements bridging the spaces between adjacent bl'ocks and having portions extending -downwardly into the recesses thereof.

4. 'Ihe combination set forth in claim 3 in which the adjacent edges of adjacent blocks are provided with parallel upwardly projecting anges and the bridging elements are provided with parallel downwardly projecting anges which project into said recesses.

5. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which the portions of the moisture defiecting elements which project into said recesses overlie and shield the inlets of said ducts.

6. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which said bridging elements are substantially channel-shaped in cross-section, the depending flanges thereof directly overlying the said ducts and shielding the same against the entrance of mortar but being spaced therefrom to permit the passage of moisture.

'7. A masonry wall structure comprising a plurality of courses of building units bonded together, one such course being a seepage collecting course constructed to discharge collected seepage adjacent one face of the wall structure, and a flashing member extending into the wall structure just below the seepage collecting course so as to receive and conduct outwardly of the wall the moisture collected by said seepage collecting course.

8. A masonry wall structure comprising a plurality of superposed courses, a flashing member having a marginal portion projecting partway into said wall intermediate two such courses, the masonry course directly above the flashing member being designed and constructed to intercept all seepage and to discharge the same onto the flashing member to be conducted by that member away from the wall. l

9. The combination set forth in claim 8 in which the seepage intercepting course consists of a series of units each having a groove in its undersurface extending parallel to the wall surface, the grooves of the several units being in alignment, and the flashing member is provided with an upstanding flange which enters said grooves.

10. A masonry block for the collection and disposal of water seeping downwardly through a wall comprising a relatively flat member adapted to be bonded by mortar to adjacent masonry units in the wall and having a recess in that surface thereof which is to face upwardly, for the collection of moisture, and a duct formed in said block for the disposal of intercepted water, said duct leading downwardly from said recess and having a discharge port adjacent one edge of the block.

11. A masonry wall structure comprising a plurality of superposed tiers or courses of building units, one such course being composed of seepage collecting blocks for collecting moisture seeping downwardly from above, each of said blocks being hollowed out to provide a basinlike receptacle provided with drainage means for diverting moisture from. said receptacle toward the exterior of said wall, and made of material similar to that of which the units in the other courses are composed, whereby the exposed edges of the building units in all courses present substantially the same appearance.

l2. A masonry wall structure comprising a plurality of superposed tiers or courses of building units, one such course being composed of seepage collecting blocks each provided with a recess in its upper surface for collecting moisture seeping down from above through `superposed courses within the wall, impervious bridging members spanning the spaces between adjacent blocks within said course so as to prevent the downward seepage of moisture through said spaces to the next lower course, the combined vertical dimension of the blocks and bridging members not exceeding the uniform normal height of said course. I

13. A masonry wall structure comprising a plurality of superposed tiers or courses of building units, one such course being composed of seepage collecting blocks each provided with a recess in its upper surface for collecting moisture seeping down from above lthrough superposed courses within the wallimpervious bridging members spanning the spaces between adjacent blocks within said course so as to prevent the downward seepage of moisture through said spaces to the next lower course, thek combined vertical dimension of the vblocks and bridging members not lexceeding the uniformV normal height of said course, each of said seepage collecting blocks being made of material similar to that of which the units in the other courses are composed, whereby the exposed edges of the building units in all courses present substantially the sameappearance.

14. A masonry block for the collection and disposal of water seeping downwardly through a wall comprising a relatively flat memberl adapted to be bonded by mortar to adjacent masonry units in the wall and; having a basinlike recess occupying the greater portion of that surface thereof which is to face upwardly, for the collection of moisture, said masonry block being formed with strengthening ribs projecting upwardly from the bottom of said recess, and spaced from the walls of said recess, and drainage means adjacent o-ne edge of said block communicating with all parts of said recess for discharging any collected moisture therefrom.

THOMAS E. KING. 

